What a Wretched Man I am !
WHAT A WRETCHED MAN I AM!
The struggle of life is not fought within a crowd in the board rooms, at work places, at schools or in any other public place. The real battle for life is fought alone and in our hearts and minds. Have you struggled with the reality of sin as apostle Paul describes in Romans? His awareness of himself and the powerful struggle to do what is right makes him refer to himself “a wretched man”. I do not know about you but I also consider myself “a wretched man”. Have you thought of your self as “a wretched man or woman”? Let’s read Romans.
Romans 7: 14-25
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
There are things about me that I do not like – such as impure thoughts and the desire to sin. It is like, how can I be a child of God and still battle with this part of me? I am really relieved to see that I am not alone and that even apostle Paul struggled daily on this matter of sin. He calls it “body of death”. Imagine carrying a dead body (corpse) on you and walking around on a daily basis? It is disgusting to think about it that way. But that is exactly the feeling of the sin we inherited from the fall of man. In other words, we can’t get away from it even when we want to. “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” Of course this is not an excuse to sin and Apostle Paul says God forbid. May it not be so.
Do you now see why we need Jesus to rescue us? Paul shouts “Thanks be to God – through Christ Jesus”. I am shouting the same. How about you? The heavy guilt of sin is enough to weigh us down and even kill us. Have you messed up like I have done some times? Thanks be to God for Jesus, our savior and redeemer. “1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.( Romans 8:1-2).
Do you feel shamed and condemned because of your present or past sin? Lets’ confess, asks for God’s forgiveness and be released today in the power of God for “whom the Son sets free is free indeed”. Amen.
May the Lord strengthen you and empower us all to live the life in the Spirit of Christ.
The struggle of life is not fought within a crowd in the board rooms, at work places, at schools or in any other public place. The real battle for life is fought alone and in our hearts and minds. Have you struggled with the reality of sin as apostle Paul describes in Romans? His awareness of himself and the powerful struggle to do what is right makes him refer to himself “a wretched man”. I do not know about you but I also consider myself “a wretched man”. Have you thought of your self as “a wretched man or woman”? Let’s read Romans.
Romans 7: 14-25
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
There are things about me that I do not like – such as impure thoughts and the desire to sin. It is like, how can I be a child of God and still battle with this part of me? I am really relieved to see that I am not alone and that even apostle Paul struggled daily on this matter of sin. He calls it “body of death”. Imagine carrying a dead body (corpse) on you and walking around on a daily basis? It is disgusting to think about it that way. But that is exactly the feeling of the sin we inherited from the fall of man. In other words, we can’t get away from it even when we want to. “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” Of course this is not an excuse to sin and Apostle Paul says God forbid. May it not be so.
Do you now see why we need Jesus to rescue us? Paul shouts “Thanks be to God – through Christ Jesus”. I am shouting the same. How about you? The heavy guilt of sin is enough to weigh us down and even kill us. Have you messed up like I have done some times? Thanks be to God for Jesus, our savior and redeemer. “1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.( Romans 8:1-2).
Do you feel shamed and condemned because of your present or past sin? Lets’ confess, asks for God’s forgiveness and be released today in the power of God for “whom the Son sets free is free indeed”. Amen.
May the Lord strengthen you and empower us all to live the life in the Spirit of Christ.
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